Three data sets have been collected on endothiapepsin complexed with the gem-diol inhibitor PD-135,040: a high-resolution synchrotron X-ray data set, a room-temperature X-ray data set and a neutron diffraction data set. Until recently, it has been impossible to grow large protein crystals of endothiapepsin with any gem-diol inhibitor that are suitable for neutron diffraction.

Endothiapepsin has been cocrystallized with the gem-diol inhibitor PD-135,040 in a low solvent-content (39%) unit cell, which is unprecedented for this enzyme–inhibitor complex and enables ultrahigh-resolution (1.0 Å) X-ray diffraction data to be collected. This atomic resolution X-ray data set will be used to deduce the protonation states of the catalytic aspartate residues. A room-temperature neutron data set has also been collected for joint refinement with a room-temperature X-ray data set in order to locate the H/D atoms at the active site.

Endothiapepsin has been cocrystallized with the gem-diol inhibitor PD-135,040 in a low solvent-content (39%) unit cell, which is unprecedented for this enzyme—inhibitor complex and enables ultrahigh-resolution (1.0 Å) X-ray diffraction data to be collected. This atomic resolution X-ray data set will be used to deduce the protonation states of the catalytic aspartate residues. A room-temperature neutron data set has also been collected for joint refinement with a room-temperature X-ray data set in order to locate the H/D atoms at the active site.

Noroviruses are the major cause of human epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis. Viral replication requires a 3C cysteine protease that cleaves a 200 kDa viral polyprotein into its constituent functional proteins. Here we describe the X-ray structure of the Southampton norovirus 3C protease (SV3CP) bound to an active site-directed peptide inhibitor (MAPI) which has been refined at 1.7 Å resolution. The inhibitor, acetyl-Glu-Phe-Gln-Leu-Gln-X, which is based on the most rapidly cleaved recognition sequence in the 200 kDa polyprotein substrate, reacts covalently through its propenyl ethyl ester group (X) with the active site nucleophile, Cys 139. The structure permits, for the first time, the identification of substrate recognition and binding groups in a noroviral 3C protease and thus provides important new information for the development of antiviral prophylactics.